Carton handling apparatus



April 5, 1966 A. F. JAcKLr-:vlcH

CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 17, 1964 April 5, 1966 A. F. JAcKLEvlcH CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1964 IN V EN TOR.

April 5, 1966 A. F. JAcKLl-:vlcH 3,244,322

CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet .'5

` Filed Sept. 17, 1964 United States Patent O CARTGN HANDLING APPARATUS Anthony F. .lachlevich, San Francisco, Calif., assigner to @wens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept.. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 397,989 3 Cia'im's. (01." `22h-297) My invention relates to improvements inl carton handling apparatus and is particularly concerned with what I"define as case or carton stack metering, in that it is designed-to control'the flow of stacks of two or more cartons to a carton or case destacker. Such destacker an-d a` general handling system with whichmy invention may well be used'is disclosed in a copending application of K. O. Burke, Serial No. 258,302, filed February 13, 1963, now Patent No. 3,208,603, titled Carton Destacking Apparatus, the application being in` Group310 and `assigned to the assignee of the present case.

An important object of my invention is the provision of novel, simple, effective apparatus associated with a destacker, which will function to allow single stacks of one or more cartons or other articles, resting upon an inclined gravity conveyor, to move into the destacker, while holding back a succeeding stack, or perhaps an accumulation of such stacks, thus providing ample time for pallet loa-d replacement, etc.

It is also an object of my invention to provide in a carton metering device of the above character a simple, relatively inexpensive mechanism which may be assembled for use and maintained in operation with comparative ease.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

InV the accompanying drawings forming a part of my application:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view with certain cover plates at least partially removed to reveal the driving mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing the device holding back a plurality of stacks of cartons.

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2 but indicating how a Single stack of cartons is released while one or more succeeding stacks are held against immediate advance.

The apparatus, or device, comprising my invention, is mounted upon the supporting framework 1d of a rollertype gravity conveyor 11, such being slightly inclined as in the identified copending application, so that stacks of cartons, cases, or other articles may move by gravity along the conveyor to a destacker, as in the arrangement shown in said application.

The specific apparatus comprises essentially a pair of opposed spaced apart grippers 132l and a pair of opposed spaced apart stop arms 13. A gripper 12 and a stop arm 13 are positioned on each side of the conveyor 11, both being secured to a common vertical shaft 14 which rises from a base 15 extending transversely of and beneath the conveyor framework 10.

Each gripper 12 is a vertical plate or jaw 16, having a pad 17 to Contact a carton C or other Iarticle and an arm 18 which has a collar 19 at one end. This collar fits over the shaft 14 and is suitably secured thereto. The stop arm 13 is generally L-shaped, comprising a relatively long arm portion 20 and a padded vertically elongated angular finger 21 which, as will be apparent, is intended to contact the forward face of a carton C or other such article at times and thereby completely stop advance of all cartons, etc. rearwardly of the fingers 21. Both shafts 14 are rockable in opposite directions, thereby to bring the stop arms and grippers into engagement with the cartons, in alternation. The grippers and stop arms are spaced apa-rt so that a single stack of cartons, or such articles, can be engaged simultaneously only by either the stop arms 13, or the grippers 12. Thus, when the stop arms 13 are moved apart (FIG. 3) 'out of contact with a carto-n C, the grippers immediately grasp the cartons just behind the stack which has been directly engaged by the stoparm 13, but is being releasedby opening of the arms. Upon movement of the foremost stack ofy cartons beyond the influence of the stop arms, these are again closed (FIG. 2) and the grippers are separated, thereby permitting gravity flow of succeeding' stacks of cartons or other articles until another abuts the stop arms, as shown.

Rocking ofthe shafts 1-4k in timed relation to other phases of the carton handling operation is obtained by mechanismA substantially as follows. Beneath the'conveyor framework 1t)y is a box-like housing 22 `or base, extending transversely of saidY framework; A piston-type air motor 23 'is disposed horizontally, being pivoted to a vertical hinge pin- 241at one-end so thatit may swing in a horizontal plane a limited required extent. The piston rod 25 is connected by a link 26 to a vertical rock shaft 27. A short horizontal arm 28 and a link 29 connect the rock shaft 27 to a power disk 30, oscillation of which rocks the previously mentioned vertical rock shafts 14 which carry the grippers and stop arms.

This power disk 30 is mounted upon a vertical shaft 31. The just mentioned link 29 is pivoted at one end to the power disk near its periphery. Specifically, where such pivot is positioned radially of the disk, will, of course, predetermine the angle of oscillation. Such may be varied as required. The connection between the power disk and each of the two rock shafts 14 may well oomprise an arm 32 rigidly secured to a rock shaft 14 and a link 33 pivoted at one end to the arm 32 and at its other end to a pin 3d on the power disk at a point near its axis of rotation. The Vpivot connection between the other link 33 and the power disk 30 is diametrically opposite the first named pivot. Thus, with oscillation of the power disk 30, it is apparent that the stop arms and grippers will alternately assume carton engaging positions.

Normally stacks of cartons or such articles will be placed upon the conveyor upwardly alo-ng the latter from the metering device comprising my invention. By gravity these stacks move downwardly to assume, Ifor example, the relationship indicated in FIG. 2. Here the several Stacks are held back by the stop arms 13. Operation of the motor 23 causes rotation of the power disk 30 and results in separation of the stop arms 13, thereby to release the foremost stack of cartons and cause immediate closing of the grippers 12 into firm holding engagement with opposed side walls of the incoming stack of cartons. Alternate timed opening and closing of the stop arms and grippers meters the stack-s to the destacker.

Modications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. ln combination, means providing an elongated pathway down which articles are intended to move by gravity in succession, means at a selected point along the pathway for holding back an accumulation of articles and releasing them singly for gravity dow down the pathway, said means comprising a pair of opposed article grippers movable toward and away from each other along a path extending generally transverse to the length of the elongated pathway, one such gripper being at each side of the pathway to frictionally engage a side wall of an article, a pair of stop arms positioned one at each side of the path of the articles and capable of being brought int-o holding engagement with the forward end of an article on said pathway, and means for moving the grippers and stop arms so that either the arms or grippers engage the articles, said grippers and arms being spaced apart along the pathway a distance greater than the horizontal length of one of the articles, the gripper and arm at each side of the pathway being mounted for oscillation on a common axis, a power disk between the two axes and linkage through which motion is trained from said disk to the grippers and arms.

2. In combination, an inclined elongated gravity con veyor down which articles are intended to move by gravity in succession, means at a selected point along the conveyor for holding back an accumulation of articles and releasing them singly for gravity flow down the conveyor, said means comprising a gripper at each side of the path of travel of the articles mounted for movement into frictional engagement with a side surface of an article, a stop arm at each side of the path of the articles mounted for projection into said path of travel of the articles, said arms being positioned downwardly along the conveyor from the grippers a distance greater than the length of one of the articles, and means actuating the grippers and arms whereby the latter project into the path of the cartons while the grippers are retracted from article contact, there being a power disk mounted for oscillation on a vertical axis and a vertical rock shaft supd porting the arm and gripper at each side of the conveyor and links and arms connecting the rock shafts and power disk whereby oscillation of the latter rocks said shafts. 3. ln the combination dened in claim 2 the arm and gripper on each side of the conveyor being mounted for oscillation about a common vertical axis, and means for rocking the arms and grippcrs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 945,685 1/1910 Blakeslee 221-298 1,122,569 12/1914 Bell 221-298 1,141,165 6/1915 VJinter 221-298 1,518,208 12/1924 McCellan 221-298 2,073,964 3/1937 Foss 221-298 2,738,103 3/1956 Bisese 193--40 2,906,434 9/1956 Goodman 221-297 LOUIS J DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SOBIN, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, MEANS PROVIDING AN ELONGATED PATHWAY DOWN WHICH ARTICLES ARE INTENDED TO MOVE BY GRAVITY IN SUCCESSION, MEANS AT A SELECTED POINT ALONG THE PATHWAY FOR HOLDING BACK AN ACCUMULATION OF ARTICLES AND RELEASING THEM SINGLY FOR GRAVITY FLOW DOWN THE PATHWAY, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSED ARTICLE GRIPPERS MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER ALONG THE PATH EXTENDING GENERALLY TRANSVERSE TO THE LENGTH OF THE ELONGATED PATHWAY, ONE SUCH GRIPPER BEING AT EACH SIDE OF THE PATHWAY TO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE A SIDE WALL OF AN ARTICLE, OF A PAIR OF STOP ARMS POSITIONED ONE AT EACH SIDE OF THE PATH OF THE ARTICLES AND CAPABLE OF BEING BROUGHT INTO HOLDING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FORWARD END OF AN ARTICLE ON SAID PATHWAY, AND MEANS FOR MOVING THE GRIPPERS AND STOP ARMS SO THAT EITHER THE ARMS OR GRIPPERS ENGAGE THE ARTICLES, SAID GRIPPERS AND ARMS BEING SPACED APART ALONG THE PATHWAY A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE HORIZONTAL LENGTH OF ONE OF THE ARTICLES, THE GRIPPER AND ARM AT EACH SIDE OF THE PATHWAY BEING MOUNTED FOR OSCILLATION ON A COMMON AXIS, A POWER DISK BETWEEN THE TWO AXES AND LINKAGE THROUGH WHICH MOTION IS TRAINED FROM SAID DISK TO THE GRIPPERS AND ARMS. 